It was the best of times, it was the wurst of times…

Yes the mis-spelling is deliberate…I couldn’t resist a play on the famous opening from Charles Dickens’ “A Tale of Two Cities.”

This post shows the Perry wurst gun and limber set for my Austrian light brigade. It is a beautiful piece, but a challenge to base up. The whole piece - gun, limber and team -  measures 270mm in length and the longest piece of MDF I had on hand was 250mm. So my first thoughts were to mount the gun, it’s wurst seat and figures on a separate base that could be fixed to the limber with magnets so that the limber could be used separately on the table, but in the end I placed the team and the vehicles turning slightly and I think it gives an interesting twist (no pun intended) to the model. 

Astute readers will note that the lead and wheel drivers are Franz and Hubert who last appeared in my earlier post on the line artillery. In between them is Otto slumped over his pommel thinking, “OMG…I hope he is not going to go on about Kant’s Nebular hypothesis again! I mean surely he knows that all Kant’s hypotheses are based on that crazy theory that the earth is round, when any thinking man knows it’s flat.”

Meanwhile at other end of the vehicle, the gunners are taunting Norbert, the long suffering NCO, who is the focus of their jokes.

“Come on Norbie” they say, “climb up on the wurst seat with us”.

“I’m telling you,”  Norbert says, sounding very much like Michael Caine, “I am not going in the front again!”

“But it’s better up front than down here at the back where I am,” says Ludwig, “directly over the axel and I feel every bump and jolt!”

“I wish I had stayed with the foot artillery,” Norbert grumbles.

They aren’t a happy bunch these Austrians gunners, but when the action calls they are an efficient crew, as seen here as they are loading their piece.

Regiment Froon Completed

Over the weekend I have finished off the Third Battalion, Regiment Froon.

I have to admit that these 36 figure battalions are a bit of a marathon compared to my usual 18 or 24 man units. But they are done.

And here is the whole regiment with three line battalions and one landwehr (back left).

Next on the painting table is another artillery unit, as a bit of a break from all that white.

Austrian Field Artillery

 Fresh off the painting table is the first of the Austrian Napoleonic artillery.

This set is a 6lb field gun and limber. 

As with most Perry artillery sets this is full of animation and again I like that brown coat.

The limber set is equally animated with the lead driver turning in the saddle and following on from my last post, what is the conversation?  My take is:

Franz: “I’ve just finished reading Immanuel Kant’s Nebular hypothesis. He thinks that the Solar System was formed by a big gas cloud called a Nebula.”

Hubert: “Kant…his brother is a brewer isn’t he?”

Franz: “Yes.”

Hubert: “I hope there is beer in camp to night.”

Franz: “Me too.”

Next it is back to the line infantry.

Austrian High Command

These three are the high command for my Austrians.

Before basing…

…and then on their final basing.

Austrian Grenz Regiment, Number 6

This unit is the Varazdin (Warasdiner)-Stankt Georger Regiment, number 6.

Formed in 1749 the Regiment was recruited from that part of modern day Croatia and Serbia that lies east and southeast of Zagreb. Each of its twelve companies were recruited from different localities. In 1769 the regiment was designated number 65 under the inhaber Guicciardi and in 1798 it assumed the title of Varazdin-Stankt Georger Regiment, Number 6.

Its main involvement in the Napoleonic wars was in the 1809 campaign where three battalions (two line and one reserve) of the regiment served across the VI Corps. It was heavily involved in the preliminary actions of the campaign, specifically at Landshut, Neumarkt and Edelsberg. At the Battle of Aspen they fought In Nordmann’s Brigade, but had been so worn down by fighting that the two line battalions counted less than 550 men. It was also engaged at Wagram.

The regiment continued in Austrian service until 1871, when it was disbanded.

I am pleased with the way the brown coats contrast with the light blue pants, and the less formal marching pose suits these border troops and provides a good contrast with the more formal German battalions.

Overseen here by their Austrian master.

The American Revolution in Virginia.

NOTE: Additional images were received after this item was posted. They are at the end of the post.

Sunday’s AWI game was set in Virginia. I wanted a game that would involve the British, Hessians, Americans and French and thought that an interesting field action might be a British attempt to halt the Franco-American force in Northern Virginia. And what better place for them to do that than long the banks of Bull Run.

So I set up a terrain based on the field of the ACW battlefield of the First Bull Run from Sudley Ford to Blackburn’s Ford. My interpretation of the terrain is as below (the actual table layout did not follow the plan exactly, but was close enough).

Since we had eight players, the forces needed to be considerable and were:

• British: 18 line infantry battalions, 1 small cavalry unit, 3 field batteries
• Hessians: 4 line battalions, 2 jäger companies, 2 amusettes, 1 field battery
• Americans: 13 Continental battalions, 2 units of riflemen, 12 militia units, 1 cavalry squadron 4 field batteries 
• French: 6 line battalions, 1 cavalry squadron, 1 field battery

The British were expecting an attack across Bull Run. At the start of the game one British brigade and the Hessians was in camp near the road junction on the lower left section of the table. Another brigade was in camp in the section to their left. The remainder of the force could be deployed anywhere below Bull Run, but not in the two top left sections and not within 150mm of a ford or the bridge.

The Franco-Americans could march onto the table at any point on the top edge, but did not see the British deployment until after they made their plan. All they knew of the British deployment was the location of the camps and that British patrols had been seen on the hills on the left.

Each side had three objectives and had to achieve two objectives to avoid conceding the game:

• The British
• Control the crossroad in the second to left lower sector at the end of the game
• Control the road junction on the right of the table at the end of the game
• At the end of the game 9 battalions had to be on the field in good order
• The Franco-Americans 
• Control two of the three lower left sections  at the end of the game
• There could be no good order British units north of Bull Run at the end of the game
• At the end of the game 11 Continental battalions had to be on the field in good order

Although they significantly outnumbered the British, the Franco-Americans had a tough task since nearly half their force was raw militia and a number of those units were classed tiny.

Here is how the game went.

The British deployed their two free brigades in the two left zones on the left while the rest of the force was positioned on the right. A large gap existed between the two wings, opposite the big bend in Bull Run.

The British extreme right

Their position further to the right (on Henry House Hill)

And the British left, where the Hessians have reacted to the American approach and win the race to the hill in front of the camps

The Franco-Americans chose to put two brigades opposite the British camps, the French in the big bend of Bull Run and one two brigades on the right. A reserve consisting entirely of small and tiny militia units were held off the table. With this deployment they began their advance.

The Hessians took the hill to their front and then charged down hill onto the freshly deployed Americans

The quickly drove off three American regiments and their artillery support

On the opposite flank the British also took the fight to the Americans. This action would hold the Americans on the northern bank here for most of the battle.

To the left of the Hessians the British troops held another American brigade at bay (above and below)

But here come the French

They crossed Bull Run unopposed

Then they swung right to cut off the British on Henry House Hill

The American reserve marched boldly across the bridge into a wall of British fire and bayonets and two British battalions sent them promptly back across the bridge.

While those two battalions were dealing with British the Militia, the French infantry cleared the other two from Henry House Hill

The Hessians and British meanwhile crushed one American brigade and prevented another from crossing the Run.

By 3:00 PM we had a decision. The British held one objective point, but lost the other. They also did not have 9 good order battalions left on the field. The Americans dominated two of the three zones they had to control giving them one objective, but lost a second objective because a Hessian unit was in their side of Bull Run, but they still had  13 good order Continental units on the field. So two objective to one gave a minor Franco-American victory. 

In fact it was the French that carried the day. Their advance was completely unopposed until they reached Henry House Hill. They ended the fight with hardly a scratch.

Additional images (provided by John L.) added since the initial post.